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  • From: <info AT durhamloop.org>
  • To: "'RTP-area local music and culture'" <ch-scene AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: submit questions -- to ask about Clear Channel Theater in Houston
  • Date: Tue, 3 Aug 2004 20:56:03 -0400



________________________________________
From: Caleb Southern
Sent: Tuesday, August 03, 2004 8:50 PM
To: ABCDdurham AT yahoogroups.com
Subject: [ABCDdurham] submit questions -- to ask about Clear Channel Theater
in Houston

Thanks to Durham Mayor Bill Bell for agreeing to allow a citizen
representative to also visit the Clear Channel Theater in Houston this
weekend. Josh Parker has agreed to take the time to go on this trip, and to
represent various questions and concerns brought up by members of the public
at ABCD and other meetings.

Please SUBMIT any questions OFFLIST to Josh that you would like to have
asked in Houston (by Friday morning) at:

Josh AT parker.nextelbroadband.net
Or 919.201.2360


Sample questions could be about:
- Clear Channel & management practices
- Theater operations & expenses
- Theater facility / design
- Convertible nature of the theater
- Concessions and vendors
- Relationship to surrounding neighborhood in Houston
- anything else you find relevant



Thanks,
Caleb



-----Original Message-----
From: Caleb Southern
Sent: Monday, August 02, 2004 1:19 PM
To: bbell AT ci.durham.nc.us; jbest AT ci.durham.nc.us
Cc: durhamtown AT yahoogroups.com; council AT ci.durham.nc.us;
commissioners AT co.durham.nc.us; mconner AT ci.durham.nc.us; 'DeLisle, Alan';
'Ben Evans'; 'Mark Schultz'; 'Jim Wise'; mfishman AT newsobserver.com;
morgan AT indyweek.com
Subject: [durhamtown] Mayor's visit to Clear Channel Theater in Houston

Mayor Bell:

Thank you for taking the time to visit the Clear Channel Theater in Houston
again this coming weekend. I appreciate the fact that Councilor John Best, a
long time critic of the proposed Durham theater, will also be on this trip.

I believe it would be very helpful to also include a citizen representative
on the tour of the Houston facility -- someone who has not been part of the
official advisory process to date, and who has specific knowledge of the
theater industry. I know of several citizens who meet these criteria and
could be available for this trip, and I will be happy to help arrange this.

Such a person could offer further insight into Clear Channel's operations in
Houston, the convertible nature of that facility, and other industry
specific questions.

Please consider also including a citizen representative on the Houston trip
this weekend.

Sincerely yours,
Caleb Southern




***

Mayor, councilman to visit Clear Channel theater facility
 
By BEN EVANS : The Herald-Sun
bevans AT heraldsun.com
Jul 30, 2004 : 9:34 pm ET

DURHAM -- Mayor Bill Bell and City Councilman John Best Jr. plan to travel
to Houston early next month to visit a performing arts theater run by Clear
Channel Entertainment similar to the one the city wants to build in Durham.

Bell and Best, along with at least one city staffer, will check out the
city-owned, 3,000-seat Verizon Wireless Theater in downtown Houston on Aug.
8 and 9.

"It's really to see the physical theater and see how it operates, and more
importantly to talk to the people who manage it ... and get the pros and
cons they see on it," Bell said. "I don't want people to read any more into
it than it really is. We still have a lot of work to do on that."

The Houston theater, formerly known as the Aerial Theater, features
traditional concert seating but also can be set up for banquet and cabaret
seating, in which tables are arranged on the ground floor near the stage. It
is part of a city-owned entertainment complex called Bayou Place and is
managed through a contract with Clear Channel.

Durham officials have been working for years on a proposal to build a
downtown performing arts theater. Last year, the city entered into an
exclusive negotiating contract with a development team that includes Clear
Channel, and officials are waiting for a final proposal to be delivered.

The team also recently scaled back the proposal from an estimated $42
million project to a $25 million or $30 million project. Officials have said
the theater likely would have between 2,000 and 4,000 seats.

Best, whom Bell named chairman of a theater subcommittee last year, has
remained adamantly opposed to the idea. However, he hinted that he might be
more interested in the scaled-down version.

"I haven't had the opportunity like past council members to see some of
these theaters," he said. "Even though I still have major reservations about
whether Durham can support this, I still owe it to myself and the taxpayers
to at least visit one of these theaters and see if it's something feasible
for Durham and if it could be a positive asset for Durham.

"I thought the original version was just way too large, way too expensive,"
he said. "Obviously, a lot of people saw that once the numbers came out."

Bell, when told of Best's willingness to explore the new idea, joked,
"That's why I put him on the committee."

The city officials are slated to arrive in Houston on Aug. 8, when they plan
to see a show at the theater and meet with Clear Channel management before
leaving town the next day. John Fogerty, formerly of the band Creedence
Clearwater Revival, is scheduled to perform at the theater on Aug. 8.





  • submit questions -- to ask about Clear Channel Theater in Houston, info, 08/03/2004

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